Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-11
FROM AUSTIN.
Record for the Week OF the DOings
Of the Lawmakers OF
the State.
Bills Passed and Bills Proposed-Work
Good, Bad and Indifferent-Notes,
Gossip and Chatter.


the text of Mr.. Garwood's Joint Hous
resolution, that aroused such heated
debate during the morning session yester
| day:
Section l. Be it resolved by the Legis
lature of the state OF Texas, that section
IS of article of the constitution of the
state Of Texas be so amended as to reaC
hereafter as follows:
Sec. 10. no judge of any court, secre
tary of state, attorney general, clerk O.
any court OF record, or any person hold
| ing lucrative office under the United
States, or this state, or any foreign gov
eminent, or any Salarled officer or &Ltor-
ney of any railroad or other corporation
shall, during the time he is elected or ap
pointed, or while such salary continues
be eligible TO the Legislature.
And be it further resolved, that the
Governor be requested to submit 20 g
vote of the electors of the state the fore
going proposed amendment OF the con.
stitutiOn at an election to be held the first
Thursday in August, A. D. 1887, in &C.
cordance with the provisions of article
Il of the constitution Of this state.
The opponents to the resolution SET
out to defeat it, and have succeeded in al
least Gripping it for the present.
TEXAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
The bill introduced by Senator Sim
kins to-day for the organization of q
geological survey is by far the most per
feet of the three bills so far presented to
the Legislature upon the same subject. Ii
provides for & state geological commits
sion whose duty shall be to ap-
point q state geOlogist and such
assistants as will be necessary,
and TO begin as soon as possible q
thorough and systematic geological sur
vey of the state. The State GeOlogist
must be man OF recognized scientific
ability, and in addition to his biennial
administration reports he must make
from time to time, as the state of knowl-
edge permits, final reports for publication
containing as thorough an exposition
OF the subject es possible. These
final reports in the aggregate
will constitute invaluable and permanent
works of reference upon the geology and
natural resources of the state. The bill
also provides for the deposition of all col
leCtions within the state museum. The
amount asked to be appropriated is $780,
900. The Yerbage end construction of
this bill is such that while the organiza-
ton starts on modest basis,
it will be able to continue from
year to year until the work
is completed. The provisions for su-
pervising commission VIII make the as
sistance of the survey, Independent Of
the individual deficiencies of the state
geoloeist, should such one be appointed,
in spite of the restrictions of the bill in
tended to prevent such q misfortune. The
Importance and necessity of such q
geological survey have never been
disputed by our intelligent citizens. and
the only difficulty has been how it could
be initiated economically and intelligent
ly by utilizing all the available assistance
and without duplication of kindred work
that can be done by the State University,
the Agricultural College, the Land Office,
the BureGu Of Statistics, the United States
Geological Survey, or other organize
tons whose duties may overlap or con-
fict with this organization. This bill has
been drawn up with much care and is
based upon the best features OF the geo.
logical surveys of other states, and if
passed will secure the Inauguration of q
systematic geological survey of our state
that will prove invaluable.
Mr.. r. T. Hill of the United States geo.
logical survey who has important offers Of
Major Howell, the director of that organ
izstiOn, and who is here to assist in see
ing that the state work is inaugurated
upon scientific basis, says that if the
bill is passed that the United States gov
eminent survey will cooperate with the
state and do work which has equaled
shrnn ~ as nf ~
state surveys.
Fortunately for the good of the state of
Texas, and of all interests concerned,
Major j. W. Howell, Director of the
United States geological survey, has
written letter to Senator Coke, in
which he sets forth at length, clearly and
distinctly, the methods of making geo
logical surveys and the difference in the
functions between state and national
surveys, together with offers
to assist in state survey.
Major Howell says that ne can materially
assist in the prosecution of state geolOg-
ical survey in two ways, viz: first by
providing the Typographical maps re-
quired as basis for the geological maps,
which it is the function of the state sur
vey to prepare, and second, by
ascertsining the general geologi-
cal structure of the state in such
q manner as to form a satisfactory basis
for the special studies which the State
Geologist would find it necessary to take
up.
THE JUDGE WILLIS CASE.
Tue House committee 10 investigate
the charges preferred against District
Judge Frank Willis, after an informal
meeting yesterday to arrange prelimina-
ries of the order in which the
proceedings should be conducted,
the committee room. Attorney General
Hogg appeared for the prosecution and
Walton & Hill for the defendant. The
proof on the part of the state
so far can be summoned up as
follows: Charles Goodnight was fore
man of the grand jury in January,
1885, that found eighty indictments
for illegal Enclosures of the state school
lands, embracing an area of 100000
acres. At two subsequent terms of the
court, at which the indictments were
found, fifty verdicts of not guilty were
rendered. Seven of these cases were
against Goodnight himself and SIX against
MS lawyer, G. a. Brown. OF the jury
that sat on the trial of the cases, six were
of the defendant, Goodnight.
". H. Oliver, one of the jurors,
was under six indictments for |
The same ofense, and ret one
sat on Goodnight's cases, but sat on the |
rial of others indicted 81 the same time,
both before and after his own cases were
disposed Of. Woodman, the District !
who prosecuted the cases, was in
he employment OF the stock association
If which Goodnight was President and G.
\. Brown Vice-President, and he took the
,ffice of District Attorney with the IN
that the officers of the
tock association were to pay him,